Dear France,
I’m so sorry for the horror you went through yesterday. You suffered a massive loss, a painful wound. You were struck by a faceless enemy who thrives on inciting fear, who dwells in the shadows and strikes without warning.
The same enemy attacked my country. And I can tell you, your country will never be the same. (more…)
I was about eight when I encountered my first corpse.
It was at the funeral of a woman my grandmother knew, the woman from whom we’d bought our piano. Which apparently meant we owed her the courtesy of attending her funeral. My brother was the one who’d been playing piano since he was about five, and as luck would have it, he had a piano lesson. Convenient excuse. So I got to represent the family by attending the funeral with my grandmother.
Attending my first funeral would have been disturbing enough. But this one had a viewing. That’s right, everyone filed up to stare at a corpse. Because that’s not weird at all. (more…)
Every writer has that character, that one they encountered somewhere within the pages of another writer’s work and said “Ah-ha! I have found my literary twin.”
I was talking about this with a writing friend recently, and I’ve decided to introduce you all to my literary twin: Jo March. Perhaps you’ve heard of her. 😉 Created by Louisa May Alcott, she is featured in the literary classic, Little Women.
What is it about her I connect with so deeply? I didn’t grow up with a cohort of sisters. My father didn’t go off to war. There was no mysterious boy living next door to me. And I certainly never harbored a deep desire to live in the time of hoop skirts and corsets. I’m happy to live in a vastly different world from Jo March.
It isn’t her situation that resonates with me. It’s her personality. (more…)